Senior Commercial / Contracts Manager

Senior Commercial / Contracts Manager

Salary: £80,000 £110,000 negotiable, depending on experience
Location: North West / Manchester
Type of work: Hybrid, ideally 3 days per week in the Manchester office, negotiable for the right person
Benefits: Executive company car, bonus scheme and wider senior-level package to be discussed

Role Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Commercial / Contracts Manager to take commercial ownership across a growing portfolio of major infrastructure projects, typically ranging from £500,000 to £5 million in value, with an overall portfolio currently in the region of £20 25 million and expected to grow significantly.

This is a senior appointment for someone with strong contractual, financial and project commercial management experience. The priority is to appoint someone from a High Voltage, utilities or rail background, although candidates from civils, large-scale construction or complex infrastructure project environments will also be considered.

The successful candidate will act as the commercial bridge between finance, operations and project delivery teams, ensuring strong contract management, KPI and SLA performance, financial reporting, margin protection, risk management and commercial governance across multiple live and future projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the commercial and contractual management of a portfolio of infrastructure projects from tender and contract award through to delivery, variations and final account.

• Act as the senior commercial interface between project delivery, finance, operations, clients, contractors and subcontractors.

• Oversee contract administration, ensuring obligations, timescales, notices, variations, claims and compensation events are managed effectively.

• Monitor project performance against budgets, forecasts, KPIs, SLAs and contractual deliverables.

• Support pricing, tender reviews, commercial strategy, risk assessment and bid decision-making for new opportunities.

• Drive cost control, margin protection, forecasting accuracy, cashflow visibility and commercial reporting.

• Review and manage applications for payment, subcontractor accounts, client valuations, variations and final accounts.

• Identify and mitigate commercial, contractual and financial risks across live projects and future workstreams.

• Work closely with finance to improve reporting, cost allocation, governance and overall project commercial visibility.

• Support the development of scalable commercial processes as the project portfolio grows.

Person Specification

• Significant experience in commercial management, contracts management, quantity surveying or a senior project commercial role.

• Background in High Voltage, utilities or rail infrastructure is strongly preferred.

• Experience from civils, construction, engineering or major infrastructure projects will also be considered.

• Strong knowledge of contract administration, commercial governance, variations, claims, risk management and final accounts.

• Good understanding of NEC contracts; experience with rail, utility or infrastructure frameworks would be advantageous.

• Strong financial awareness, including forecasting, budget control, margin analysis, cashflow and commercial reporting.

• Ability to interpret contracts and translate contractual obligations into practical project controls.

• Confident managing KPIs, SLAs and contractual performance measures.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence project teams, finance, senior leadership, clients and subcontractors.

• Technically credible, with enough understanding of infrastructure project delivery to challenge, support and guide project teams.

• North West based, with the ability to attend the Manchester office regularly.

• Degree, HNC/HND or equivalent qualification in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Construction, Engineering or a related discipline would be desirable but is not essential where experience is strong.

Opportunity

This is a senior commercial opportunity within a growing engineering and infrastructure group, offering the chance to shape commercial processes, strengthen project performance and play a key role in the next stage of business growth.

The role would suit an experienced Commercial Manager, Contracts Manager, Senior Quantity Surveyor, Technical Contracts Manager or commercially focused Project/Operations professional who is ready to take ownership of a substantial and growing portfolio.

The salary is expected to be in the region of £80,000 £110,000, negotiable depending on experience, with an executive car and bonus scheme available. Hybrid working is offered, with an ideal expectation of around 3 days per week in the Manchester office, although flexibility may be considered for the right candidate.

To apply, please submit your CV by clicking on the relevant links. If successful, you will be contacted by one of our consultants within 3 working days. Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications we expect to receive for this vacancy, if you do not hear from us within this time, you should presume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Grassroots Recruitment is acting as a recruitment agency and a recruitment business in respect of this vacancy. Grassroots Recruitment is an equal opportunities employer and recruiter. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, religion or disability.